I have been a little slow to notice the Amanda Hocking phenomenon that seems to have taken the writing blogs by storm because I do not consider myself a writer and certainly not a novelist. I consider myself first an entrepreneur, then independent publisher, then a business author but certainly not a writer. Yes, I know how to write and do write but it is simply not a title I adopt for myself.
Having said that, I finally caved in to find out what all the fuss was about regarding Amanda Hocking and read a couple of online articles that lead me to her blog. I can honestly say I was simply floored by what I read this 30-year woman has achieved. At first, I made quick assumptions about her in my mind. But as I delved into her various blog posts of her journey in life, I was happily inspired and impressed by the amount of information she revealed.
Based on many comments I have read, it is clear to me that many people don’t quite get why she is so successful or they have a simplistic view of why she is so successful. Certainly, I won’t claim to know Amanda any better than any other commentator but what I do notice are the many layers and nuggets of wisdom, genius, and insights she is freely sharing.
Amanda is very humble and understated in what she is sharing. You almost have to get past her humility to truly appreciate her genius and the intuition she possesses. Without trying to be disrespectful to Amanda, I find her blog format difficult to follow. More specifically, I find that trying to follow her blog posts on her publishing journey difficult to digest in the present format. In that spirit, I have taken the liberty to assemble what I think are the most valuable posts and articles and arrange them in chronological order.
Certainly, Amanda did not set out to produce an online guide to publishing success but if you read her compilation of blog posts and supporting articles in chronological order, you get the next best thing to her writing a book on the subject.
Below are what I consider must-read blog posts and articles to get a fuller view of Amanda Hocking’s journey of publishing success. Whether you agree or disagree with her choices along the way, there can be no doubt she is inspiration to writers and authors (both fiction and non-fiction) around the world.
- Apr 29, 2009 – There is no magic hand
- Aug 27, 2010 – an epic tale of how it all happened
- September 1, 2010: Kevin Smith is My Doppelganger
- Sept 17, 2010 – My Thoughts on Indie Publishing
- Dec 26, 2010 – How Everything Went the Opposite of What I’d Been Told
- Dec 29, 2010: Oh, Internet, and Your Wicked Untruths
- Feb 8, 2011 – Indie vs. Traditional
- Feb 9, 2011 – Authors catch fire with self-published e-books
- Feb 11, 2011 – Pretty Much Everything I Have to Say About How to Do What I Do
- Feb 15, 2011 – a bit of reality check…
- March 3, 2011 – Some Things That Need to Be Said
- March 22, 2011 – UPDATED: What I Can Say Right Now
- March 24, 2011 – The Blog
- March 24, 2011 – Self-Publisher Signs Four-Book Deal With St. Martin’s
- May 5, 2011 – And Yet Another Announcement…
- June 2011: Amanda Hocking, Storyseller
- July 28, 2011: A Bit More on My Decision
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Nov 30, 2011 – Self-Published Author Amanda Hocking Sells Over 1 Million e-books
- January 2012: Amanda Hocking, the Author Who Sold Millions Self-Publishing Online
- January 8, 2012 – A Self-Published Author’s $2 Million Cinderella Story
- April 4, 2012 – it’s not the way that I want it – it’s just the way that I need it day after day
- April 12, 2012 – My Lack of Pixie Dust
- April 15, 2012 – What Happened When I Made the List
- April 30, 2012 – How Am I Doing Now?
- Sept 10, 2012 – Scandalous
- Oct 2, 2012 – Ideas vs Things
- April 30, 2013 – My Writing Analogy
- May 7, 2013 – My Reaction to the Gender Coverup
- December 16, 2013 – Much Blogging About Nothing
- April 30, 2014 – Distractions & Balance
- February 23, 2015 – Writing Tips & Tricks & Other Useful Advice
- June 3, 2015 – How I Became a Published Author
- June 13, 2015 – How I Write Books
I will update this post with new and updated links, if any. Enjoy the reading as I have.
Her first blog post.
“I am my own magic hand”.
http://amandahocking.blogspot.com/2009_04_01_archive.html
Ddeu,
Thanks for that link. I added her very first post. It is inspiring to know that at an early stage, Amanda would take personal responsibility to create the success she wanted. It is very important for people to understand where she started from.
She certainly is a big inspiration for us indie writers if not every (starting) writer.
At my blog i’ve also posted some reasons for her success (in Dutch).
Thanks for this article!